Christian's Travel Blog

Heavy rain knocking on the roof takes me slowly away from my dream and worries slip instead into my mind as I made up my travel plans for my journey on the mighty Mekong river. But setting my first steps in the early morning while the city is awaking for a new busy day, the sun takes a change to claim its right place - and gone are my grey thoughts. Beside the street dogs feeding on the garbage bags of last nights mobile food stalls, only a few monks are joining me on the street, walking with their still empty food baskets from door to door in exchange for prayers. Soon the city will turn into a modern jungle for pedestrians, with dangerous and sometime hazardous movements to cross a steadily growing flow of cars and motorbikes. The latter conquer like ants the last sanctuaries of strange people like myself: walking through the city on foot from one corner to another, challenging my philosophy of "the journey is the reward". One hour later I am on my way up North, en...

No tigers, the friendly trekking guide at  Akha Hilltribe House  said, when I asked if there are any dangerous animals to expect on my way to the Huai Kaew waterfalls up in the hills - as if trekking alone in the jungle during monsoon season isn't itself a real challenge, not to say an adventure. Eventually it is my first side trip to a remote place, because I was curious to visit a locally owned and managed hill tribe retreat, winning the Thai tourist guide award 2006/2008. And I was not disappointed having three days to get out into the bush on my own, experience local food, go to bed with the darkness and awake to the sounds of the jungle. During the monsoon season the clouds are hanging deep in the hills and it's hard to distinguish if you're wet because of the humidity or rainfalls eventually started again. Drops never stop falling down from the lush green in the bamboo jungle, still to be enriched approaching the water fall. The link Jungle Trekking to Huai Kaew ...

Back from the Switzerland of Thailand - the region around Mae Hong Son along the border to Burma/Myanmar. This also means back to Chiang Mai to prepare my 2-day-trip up to Laos along the Mekong river by boat to the world heritage site of Luang Prabang. Chiang Mai also stands for more temple visits and Thai food, off course. But let me start story by story. My short trip to Pai on the way up north was rather exhausting. Though less than 150 km by minibus, the pass crossing in Mae Hong son Province takes its toll like on a boat in heavy sea: sharp curves up and down with hardly getting a view through the jungle forrests, only rewarded after more than 3 hours to reach Pai village, settled along the slopes of the Huai Nam Dong National Park. Arriving with the notice of an approaching monsoon, it took me more than a day to recover physically from the bobsleigh track. Only to be followed by the rainfalls usually coming along with a monsoon . Suddenly my simple pla...

For some reason I did not like to read when I grew out of childhood. I always felt losing out on something else, like hanging out with friends. In fact, reading is time consuming as long as you do not experience the journey taking place in your mind. Worse, in highschool we were tasked to read and quote certain classic literature. Indeed, I did hate school at that time, not only because I was up to the age of 16 at the lower end lining up at gymnastic classes. Imagine, mixed classes ... and most girls up on the line. But one day I met Siddhartha . Hermann Hesse's highly recommendable novel as pocket book edition (now also available as ebook for free). I still remember the blue cover with the author's portrait that appears to me like an hommage to Ghandi. It was the time when I painted the famous Che  Guevara profile on the back of my leather gilet jacket and listend first time into my elder brother's double LP of the legendary  Woodstock Festival . ...

I admit, twice during my week in Chiang Mai I could not resist to go for "croissant & cafe au lait" for breakfast ... once even filled with chocolate. But I swear (with crossed fingers ;) it was only because my " Wanderslust " drives me already in the morning walking around the streets, and off course, because my favorite among local food stalls was closed during the last four festive days. It's a place by locals for locals, probably of Chinese descent, and they preferred not to make money but instead worshiped along the many visitors from all the country to celebrate the Great Buddha in one of the many temples concentrated in the old square of the city. I remember visiting first time Japan, and my surprise to get a variety of small sweet and sour dishes including fish for breakfast. Well, +20 makes a difference. I do enjoy having rice, tofu and egg, together with a soup that is boiling in a big pot of vegetables and pork meat next the small tables an...

Five years ago the financial crises involuntarily and infamously achieved what the ecological debate still is struggling: meanwhile also ordinary people in my "Western Civilisation" start differentiating what "global" stands for and how it may impact on their daily life. Five years later, Europe (as an unifying idea of concepts) seems to be in its own, continued crises, fueled by interests of global (financial) players and a nebulous mix of national populism. Traveling about two weeks in Thailand I ask myself, who does still remember the Asian Financial Crises in the late 90ies, shattering the outlook for Asia just before entering the new millennium. Today I find myself in bustling communities not only striving for a daily living, but also presenting themselves as a multicultural society that builds on and combines successfully traditions (like spirituality and culture) and progress (like education, entrepreneurship and technology).   Provincial capitals a...

Cool, my first week on the road. I am thinking how Richard Katz must have felt in the early 20ies (travelling around the world too ... some 90 years ago). Probably he was still on his first leg, crossing the Mediterranian Sea by ship enroute to Alexandria (Egypt). Seems I am ahead due to the introduction of civil aviation: Non-stopVienna - Bangkok took me about 10 hours to get a warm but wet welcome. However, the airborn form of mobility - after getting popular during the "jet-set" period in the late 60ies and 70ies - might also have had its peak in terms of the "liberty" of flying. I remember travelling 20 years ago on my first "around-the-world" ticket without much hassle hopping on a plane with little formalities at departures and arrivals. Today - beside security meassures - we rightfully are (made) aware on the environmental impact our desire for individual mobility causes. En route . The first seven days of 365 blogging around-the-world in a...